Method of and apparatus for making zigzag or fan-folded assemblies of series connected envelopes



Nov. 21, 1944. v. E. HEYWOOD 2,363,417

METHQD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING ZIG-ZAG 0R FAN F LDED I ASSEMBLIES OFSERIES CONNECTED ENVELQPES Filed July 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 21 zz QQ v. E. HEYWOOD I Nov. 21, 1944.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING ZIG-ZAG- OR FAN FOLDED ASSEMBLIES OFSERIES CONNECTED ENVELOPES Filed July 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m uu wwavww mm mm ow N fl yr v I NU x Q M T" NO {11.71.

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5 07/00 ATTORN EY I Z a Patented Nov. 21, 1944 I VMETHOQDV OFAND,APPARATUS FOR MAKING .:ZIGZAG'0R FAN-FOLDED ASSEMBLIES F seams CONNECTEDENVELOPES Vincent E. Heywood, Worcester, Mass, assig-nor to UnitedStates Envelope Company, Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Maine' v jApplication July 15, 1941. Serial No. 402,524

' 4- Claims. (01.; 93-6 1) The present invention relatesto theproduction of zig-zag or fan-folded assemblies or chains ofseries-connected envelopesfin a form that meets all the exactingrequirements of such fbusiness machines (for bookkeeping, addressing,and-like purposes) as are constructed to handleand feed theirentry-receiving media in a' continuous web 2, which at. regularintervals throughout its length .is cross-scored to provide weakenedseverance lines 3, so that the strip is readily foldable along theselines to form a compactzig-zag or strip which is presented to themachine as a zig-zag or fan-folded stack. To meet such re-' quirements.the envelopes or closuresmustbe capable of ready separation fromtheseries' into in stack, conveniently arranged on a suitable support I,with a considerable length of foldedstrip occupying a relatively smallspace, owing to the tendencyof the 'folded portions to pack tightly;

.. The strip 2 also provides along one edge a suitdividual units forsubsequent loading and Sealing after entry by the machineof theappropriate data thereon, and furthermore, must be capable of being'fedaccurately as a series,in order to insure absolutely correctregistration of each envelope unit with the writing d chine. I v M IAccording to my invention, a suitable crossscored web or carry strip iscontinuously fed evices offthebusine ss ma-,

able band 4, having perforations 5 at regular intervals, the band 4being readily removable, along a weakened line of severance 6 (see Fig.6), after it has performed its usual function of feeding th stripthrough a business machine.

The continuous lengthwise movement of web or strip 2 is here shown asobtained by a feed drum l, secured to a rotating shaft 8 andhaving onits lengthwise, and at the same time the succession of spaced-apartcompletedenvelopes, travelling in the same direction and 'at the samespeed as said web, are brought one by. one. into registry and adhesivecontact with the spaces between the web's cross-scores, thus to obtain acomposite web-and-envelope structure ,,which is collected or assembledin a izlg-zag orfan-folded stack, of the form required for its use in a0.

business? machine.

periphery a circular series of pins 9 so spaced as to be freely receivedin the perforations 5 of the feed band 4 when the strip 2 is passedaround theperiphery of the drum 1.; It is to be noted that the drum 1 isof such diameter that a consider- The above and other features andadvantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear from thefollowing detailed'description there- 7.

of, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,inwhich- ,7 I vFig; 1 is a diagrammatic view, illustrating the essential principles andelements of .myimproved process'an'd apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a view partly section, and partly in side elevation, of aportion of the apparatus illustratedinFig. 1.

able number of pins 9 are received in the perforations 5 between thepoints of tangency A and B,

where the strip passes onto and leaves the pe-.

ripheryof the drum 1. Inadvance of its engagement with the drum 1 at thepoint A, the strip 2 passes between a pair-of applicator-rolls 'IO and.i I, spaced from the drum so as to maintain in ahorizontal planeasection of strip, the length of which is'greaterthan the distancebetween adjacent severance lines 3. In its travel between the-rolls l0and II and the drum 1, the

strip is supported by a plate I 2 (see-Fig. 2), so

that it-cannotsag The web or carry strip 2 is here shown as bein drawnover the roll Ill. from a point. below said roll, being guided in itsmovement toward said roll by a suitableguide I3, which receives thestrip Fig.3 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation 'of the mechanism of Fig. '1, as viewed fromthe right, with certain N parts omitted.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view substantially along the linelargedscale. x 1 e H Fig.6 is a plan view of 'ashort section of thecomposite web-and-envelope product of my improved process and apparatus.

Y-Y of Fig. 2,. on an 811-.

As shown diagrammatically in g.1, the methed and apparatusofmy'invention contemplates the use of a continuous paper web or carrystrip after the'latter has passed over a guide bar l5 and-under a-guidebar It, these guide bars being substantially in line with the support I,The distance between the front bar It and the support I is such that thefan-folded strip is free to unfold as the strip is advanced by rotationof the feed drum 1. There is, however; no tension on the strip betweenthe guide bar It and the sup-- port, so that the strip ,tends'to sag oneither side of the intermediate guide bar l5 as the unfoldingprogresses. a v

In order to prevent the unfolding action of the strip 2 from imparting asidewise motion which might tend to cause misalinement of the stripWitlnthe feed drum, a compensating rod 16 cooperates with the guide barM. The ends of the rod I8 are freely received in slot; l1 provided bybrackets l8, so that the rod bears on the strip and, by reason of itsweight. tends to maintain a slight tension on the strip between the barand the roll In this way, the Jerking action to which the strip issubjected as it unfolds, is compensated for without lateral displacementof the strip, before it enters between the rolls in and II, the functionof which is to apply envelopes to the moving strip by a mechanism whichwill next be described.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the apparatus provides a second support |9having a trough of adjustable width for receiving on edge a stack ofenvelopes 2|, having their seal flaps 2|a (see Fig. 6) extended in openposition, the width of each envelope being slightly less than thedistance between adjacent severance lines 3 of the strip 2. The supportI9 is inclined from the horizontal at such an angle that the envelopes2| tend to slide downwardly in the trough 20 in the direction of arotatable feed wheel 22 mounted on a shaft 23 extending parallel to theshaft 8, which carries the strip feeding drum 1. The feed wheel 22provides grippers 24, of frictional material, and once during eachrevolution of the shaft 23, the grippers 24 contact the foremostenvelope as supported in the trough and carry it into engagement with aroll 25 mounted on a shaft 26 extending below and parallelto the shaft23.

The shaft 26 is driven from any suitable source of power, as by means ofa pulley 21 and belt 28, with the shaft 23 being connected to the shaft26 by gearing 29 (see Fig. 3). Normally the stack of envelopes bearsloosely on the periphery of the feed wheel 22, so that once for eachrevolution of the shaft 23, the grippers 24 remove one envelope from thetrough and carry it forward into the bite between the roll 25 and wheel22. Since the roll 25 is travelling at the same peripheral speed as thefeed wheel 22, the envelope is positively withdrawn from the stack fordelivery to a horizontally moving conveyor, generally designated by thereference character 30.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the conveyor 30 comprises a pair of spacedchains 3| passing around sprockets 32 loosely mounted on the shaft 26 onopposite sides of the roll 25. The conveyor chains 3| extend forwardly,toward the drum 1 and pass around sprockets 33 .which serve tomaintain-the upper courses of the chains in a horizontal planesubstantially in line with the top portion of the drum 1, althoughspaced therefrom. Both chains 3| pass partially around sprockets 34mounted on a shaft 35, driven from the shaft 23 through a chain 36 andsprockets 31, with the ratio between the sprockets 31 being such thatthe conveyor 30 travels at a speed less than that of the feed wheel 22.

Certain links of the conveyor chains 3| carry transversely alined pairsof lugs 01' projections 38, said pairs of projections being equallyspaced apart a distance greater than the width of an envelope 2|, andsubstantially the same as the distance between strip-severance lines 3.Consequently delivery of the envelopes one-by-one to the conveyor 30 byrotation of the feed wheel 22 and its cooperating roll 25 results inuniform spacing of the envelopes 2| on the conveyor between the lugs 38.Since the surface speed of the conveyor is less than the delivery speedof an envelope, the lugs 38 serve initially as gauges against which theleading edge of each envelope is pressed, to square up the envelope asit passes onto the conveyor.

In order to prevent an envelope from following around the feed wheel 22,a guide 38 is mounted beside the feed wheel 22 which serves to hold theenvelope in engagement with the lugs 38 until after the trailing edge ofthe envelope has left the bite of the feed wheel 22 and its cooperatingroll 25. When once clear of the feed wheel, each envelope is carriedforward by the conveyor, with its trailing edge engaged by a pair oflugs 38 and its leading edge slightly spaced from the lugs in advancethereof.

As each envelope being advanced by the conveyor leavesthe forward endsof the chains, above the sprockets 33, it passes onto fingers 40 thatserve to support the envelope as it passes into the bite between agumming roll 4| and a cooperating pressure roll 42. The shaft 43 onwhich the sprockets 33 are mounted is connected by gearing 44 to a shaft45 carrying the gumming roll 4|, it being noted that the distancebetween the vertical plane XX of the'axis of shaft 43 and the verticalplane YY of the axis of shaft 45 is slightly less than the width of anenvelope 2 Thus the leading edge of the envelope 2| enters the bite ofthe gumming rolls 4| and 42 before the trailing edge of the envelope hasleft the conveyor. Therefore, a pair of lugs 38 are still pressing onthe envelopes trailing edge as the gumming rolls take 'hold, with aresulting tendency to buckle the envelope as the lugs 38 swingdownwardly around the end of the conveyor. In order to overcome thistendency, the fingers 40 are mounted on a pivot 46, so that turning ofthe fingers in a clockwise direction will cause them to lift thetrailing edge of an envelope away from the lugs 38. The pivot 46 isconnected by an arm 41 and linkage 48 to an.

operating lever 49 adapted to receive a reciprocatory movement from acam 49a on the shaft 23 for each revolution of the feed wheel 22. Thismovement of the lever 49 is so timed that the fingers 40 are turnedabout their pivot 46 just enough to disengage the trailing edge of anenadhesive, so that passage of an envelope between.

the rolls 4| and 42 serves to apply an even coating of adhesive to theunder surfaceof the envelope. As an envelope is further advanced towardthe drum 1 by the gumming rolls, it is positively stripped from thesurface of the roll 4| by fingers 52 extending into grooves 53 providedin the periphery of the roll 4|, see Fig. 5. These fingers 52 are verynarrow and serve. to guide the envelope in its movement beyond thegumming roll without blocking any appreciable amount of adhesive fromthe under surface of the envelope. The fingers 52 support the gummedenvelope until its leading edge enters the bite between the applicatorrolls l0 and H which, as previously pointed out, are spaced from thedrum 7 sufficiently to maintain a section of strip 2 in a horizontalplane, substantially tangential to the periphery of the drum 1, incooperation with plate l2.

The lower applicator roll H) is mounted on a shaft 54 parallel to thegumming roll shaft 45, with the vertical plane Z-Z of the axis of shaft54 displaced from the vertical plane Y-Y of the axis of shaft 45 adistance slightly less than the width of an envelope 2|. .The gear 44 onthe shaft 45 is connected to a gear 55 on the shaft sure engagement withthe envelope.

2,ees,417

ll byfa'n idler 53, and since the gears 4t and II are ofthe same pitchdiameter as the rolls 4| and '10; the rolls travel at. the sameperipheral speed." The shaft"! carrying the feed drum 1, also carriesa-sprocket 51, the pitch diameter of which corresponds to the diameterof the drum, and 'a chain 58 connects the sprocket 51 to a sprocket 59on theshaft 45, having the same pitch diameter as the gearfl', As aresult, the'siirfa'ce of the-drum 1- is moving at a speed correspondingto the peripheral speed of the'rollslfl and. I

As previously pointed out,.the strip! passes upwardly from the guide l3around the lower appliator roltlfl, beforepassing onto the periph ery ofthe drum 1 at the tangent point A. Con sequen'tly, each envelope 2|,withits'u'nder surface 'gummed, is delivered by the gumming rolls intothe bite of the applicator rolls at a speed substantially correspondingto the rate of travel of any point on the strip'2. Since thedisplacement between the axes of the shafts 45 and 54 is less than thewidth of an envelope, the leading edge of'each gummed envelope is-received between the applicator rolls 10' and li before its trailingedge leaves the'bite of the gumming rolls 4| and 42'. I Thus, gummedenvelopes successively delivered by the conveyor 30 are positively a'p-I plied to the strip Z-at regular intervals corre-v sponding to thespacing between successive severance lines 3 on the strip. 1

As eachenvelope 2l' passes onto'the strip 2 between the rolls l and]I,'its gumined underside is pressed against the stripso as to cause animmediate adhesionthereto. However, short- 1y after the trailing edge ofthe envelope leaves the mining rolls 4| and 42, the roll II is liftedslightly, so that the remainder of the envelope passes freely onto thestrip, without being sub- J'ected to any force other than the pull ofthe :leading portion that is already attached to the strip by theadhesion of the gummed face of the envelope. In this way,.lifting of theupper applicator roll ll relieves the strip 2 of any retarding forcesuch as might result in damaging the perforations 5 by which the stripis fed the nvelopes to the strip without subjecting it to any strain,such as might damage the perforations of the feed band 4 that aresubsequently depended upon to carry the strip and its envelopes into themechanism of a business machine, or other similar device.

In order to obtain the above described lifting,

the roll H is mounted between the free ends of the arms 60, turnablewitha shaft 6|. The shaft 8| carries an operating arm 62 that is adapted to'beturned by a lever 63 under the control of a V 'the cooperatingrolll0, sothat the leading por tion of a gummed envelope passing onto thestrip, is pressed firmly into engagement with the strip.

around the drum 1. As previouslypointed out, it is'one of the objects ofthe invention to attach.

However, after about one-quarter of the envelope has engaged the strip,and the trailing edge has cleared'the gumming rolls, the cam 64 causesthe lever 63 to turn the shaft 6| in a clockwise direction, just enoughto lift the roll H from pres- Obviously, the above described operationof the roll II is repeated as each envelope arrives at the applicatorrolls, since the cam-64 is mounted on the same shaft 23 that carries thefeed Wheel 22.

It isto be noted that the tangent point A On the drum 1 is displacedfrom the axis vertical plane 2-2 of the axis of the applicator rollshaft 54 a distancev greater than the width of an envelope, so'that theentire gummed surface of an envelope iscompletely in engagementwith thestrip by the time it reaches the drum. In order to insure that theenvelopes will not tend to curl-away from the strip as they' passaroundthe drum 1, one or more flexible elements 61 carried by the shaft 6|,extend'freely around'the drum from which they hang downwardly, so thattheenvelopes pass under these elements 61 before arrival atthetangentpoint A. If desired, suitable weights 68. can be attached to theends of the elements 61, so that the latter exert just the right amountof draggingto insure adequate adhesion of. the envelopes to the strip bythe time the eompletedstrip leaves the drum 1.

'To, prevent the completed strip from following around beneath the drum,by reason ,of theengagement ofthe pins ,9 in the perforations 5, astripping finger 69 is provided between the under side of'the strip, andthe drum. The finger 69 is mounted on an adjustable bracket 10, so thatthe finger can be located at just the point where it will remove thestrip from the pins before the pins exert any appreciable pull ontheperforations, such a's'would tend to carry the strip around theunderside of the drum. Therefore, as the strip with the envelopesthereon leaves the drum 1 and moves downwardly, it progressively resumesin its descent its previous fan-folded form on a support 1!, in the pathof the progressively descending strip,"causes the compositeweb-andenvelope structure to fold on the score lines 3-3 into a zig-zag'or fan-fold assembly of the same general form, as shownv on the supportI, see Fig. 1.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that by the present invention, I haveprovided a highly efllcient means and method for producing, for use inbusiness machines, zig-zag or fan-folded assemblies or stacks ofseries-connected envelopes, thev same involving the continuous feed oradvancement of a cross-scored carry strip and simultaneously thesynchronized feed and delivery in registered position on said strip ofcomplete envelopes, gummed on their flap-carrying faces and traveling atthe same speed at which the strip is traveling. While for purposes ofillustration the under sides of the envelopes are 'gummed', prior totheir delivery to the strip, the

invention is not so limited, since the upwardly moving side of the stripnearest the gum tub couldreadily receive an application of adhesive.Furthermore, pre-gummed strip, or envelopes, can be employed that wouldonly require moistening prior to the delivery of the envelopes to thestrip.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for producing a zig-zag stack or assembly ofseries-connected envelopes, each with a closure flap as an extensionfrom one of its faces, comprising a feed belt or conveyor having spacedprojections for edgewise engagement with such envelopes, to efiect apositive feed of a succession of same in predetermined spaced relation,means for continuously feeding lengthwise, at substantially the samespeed as the so-fed envelopes, a paper web or strip having crossscoresof slightly greater spacing thant the leading and trailing edges of eachso-fed envelope,

means for merging the respective lines of web and envelope feed tooppose each envelopes flapcarrying face with the web face, meanseffective prior to such merger for applying adhesive to one of saidopposed faces, the said two feeding means being synchronized to effectthe registration of successive envelopes with successive web areasbetween the cross-scores, and means operable thereafter on the compositeweb-and-envelope structure produced by adhesion of said faces forassembling same progressively in a zigzag stack on hinges or fold linesprovided by said cross-scores between successive envelopes.

2. Apparatus for producing a zig-zag stack or assembly ofseries-connected envelopes, comprising means for continuously feeding asuccession of envelopes in spaced relation by positive engagementwitheach envelope along an edge thereof, means for continuously feedinglengthwise, at

substantially the same speed'as the so-f'ed envelopes, a paper strip orweb having cross-scores slightly farther apart than the leading andtrailing edges of each so-fed envelope, means for synchronizing the weband envelope feeds and for effecting their merger in a common-line offeed to oppose each envelope, by the face which carries its closureflap, in register with an area of the web face between adjacentcross-scores, and means operating prior to such merger for applyingadhesive to one or the other of said sets of face areas, whereby toobtain by the adhesive union of successive advancing envelopes with saidweb, a continuous composite web-and-envelope structure adapted forzig-zag stacking on hinges or fold lines afforded by said cross-scoresbetween said envelopes.

3. The herein described method of roducing mesa-117 a zig-zag stack orassembly of series-connected envelopes, which consists in continuouslyfeeding lengthwise .a paper'strip or web having crossscores at regularintervals, continuously feeding at the same speed by positive edgewiseengagement, a succession of envelopes, each slightly narrower than thespaces between said crossscores, merging the respective lines of web andenvelope feed, to bring into opposition with the web face, between itscross-scores, the successive envelope faces which carry the envelopesclosure flaps, applying successively to one set of said opposed faceportions, before such merger, adhesive coatings over substantially theentire areas thereof, and finally procuring the zig-zag stacking of thecomposite web-and-envelope structure thus formed on the hinges or foldlines provided by said cross-scores.

4. The herein-described method of producing a chain or strip ofseries-connected envelopes, adapted for zig-zag or fan-folded stacking,which consists in feeding a succession of complete envelopes in spacedrelation, feeding at the same speed a continuous web, havingcross-scores defining areas each slightly wider than said envelopes,with a face of said web opposing the envelope faces that carry theenvelopes closure flaps, applying adhesive to one set or the other ofsuch opposing faces, and then merging the respective lines of web andenvelope feed to register and contact each envelope by its said facewith a face portion of the web between said cross- .scores, whereby toproduce a composite web-andenvelope structure that is freely foldable inzigzag fashion on said cross-scores.

VINCENT E. HEYWOOD.

